Dipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia Traslazionale, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Univesità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy.
Servizio di Dietetica e Nutrizione Clinica, Azienda Sanitaria dell'Alto Adige, 39042 Bressanone, Italy.
Nutrients. 2021 Sep 28;13(10):3434. doi: 10.3390/nu13103434.
Overweight and obesity in children and adolescents are overwhelming problems in western countries. Adipocytes, far from being only fat deposits, are capable of endocrine functions, and the endocrine activity of adipose tissue, resumable in adipokines production, seems to be a key modulator of central nervous system function, suggesting the existence of an "adipo-cerebral axis." This connection exerts a key role in children growth and puberty development, and it is exemplified by the leptin-kisspeptin interaction. The aim of this review was to describe recent advances in the knowledge of adipose tissue endocrine functions and their relations with nutrition and growth. The peculiarities of major adipokines are briefly summarized in the first paragraph; leptin and its interaction with kisspeptin are focused on in the second paragraph; the third paragraph deals with the regulation of the GH-IGF axis, with a special focus on the model represented by growth hormone deficiency (GHD); finally, old and new nutritional aspects are described in the last paragraph.
儿童和青少年超重和肥胖是西方国家面临的严重问题。脂肪细胞远不仅仅是脂肪储存器，它们具有内分泌功能，脂肪组织的内分泌活性，以产生脂肪因子为代表，似乎是中枢神经系统功能的关键调节剂，提示存在“脂肪-大脑轴”。这种联系在儿童生长和青春期发育中起着关键作用，瘦素- kisspeptin 相互作用就是一个例证。本综述的目的是描述脂肪组织内分泌功能及其与营养和生长关系的最新进展。第一段简要总结了主要脂肪因子的特点；第二段重点介绍了瘦素及其与 kisspeptin 的相互作用；第三段涉及 GH-IGF 轴的调节，特别关注生长激素缺乏症 (GHD) 所代表的模型；最后一段描述了旧的和新的营养方面。
